Hope for Humanity (in other news)

China to Set Up $1Bil Peace Fund and Cancel Debt of Poor Countries

In his first speech at the UN headquarters in New York, President Xi Jinping said on Monday his nation will provide $100 million in aid for the African Union in next 5 years to boost peace there by supporting the establishment of an African standby force with a capacity for crisis response.
“Looking around the world, the peace and development remain the two major themes of the times,” the Chinese leader said at the summit in New York. “We must keep hold of the key of the development. Only development can eliminate the causes of the conflicts.”
China made huge gains in lifting its own people out of poverty, and now is pledging to help Africa– and other poor nations elsewhere–to do the same.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/china-to-set-up-1bil-peace-fund-and-cancel-debt-of-poor-countries/

Young Woman With Down Syndrome Finds Her Perfect Career And Starts Her Own Business

A 21 year-old woman with Down Syndrome and Autism has found her perfect career and now runs her own business in Australia.
Jo Lynam hoped for years that her daughter Emma would learn to read and write. She thought this skill was essential for Emma to find a job, but it turned out to be the secret of her success.
She now runs her own "Master Shredder" business in Townsville, North Queensland, and has four clients including solicitors and a credit union. Watching Emma's enthusiasm for what she does and hearing her mother's dedication to raising an independent child despite the obvious challenges is nothing short of inspiring.
http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1329/Young-Woman-With-Down-Syndrome-Finds-Her-Perfect-Career-And-Starts-Her-Own-Business

Google Matches Donations To Raise $11 Million for Refugees in 3 Days

Just three days after announcing it would match donations for refugee relief, Google hit its goal of raising $11 million dollars.
The tech giant’s call for donations on September 17 directed users to four specific organizations: Doctors Without Borders, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The company is encouraging people to keep donating even though the matching funds have already been given.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/google-matches-donations-to-raise-11-million-for-refugees-in-3-days/

Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Has Plummeted Almost 90% in Ten Years

Brazil is seeing a whole lot of green these days after slashing its rate of Amazonian deforestation by about 90%.
The happy decline began after Brazil became more aggressive in protecting its Amazon basin by creating protected areas in 2004, designating more than half of that land for use in national parks.
The country also placed a moratorium on highly sought-after soybeans if they were grown on deforested Amazon land. They used satellites to monitor farming and industrial activity, and got more people on the ground to enforce environmental laws. A blog, Conserve, has collected a lot of the detail about how this was accomplished. For example, some multi-national corporations, under pressure to stop the clear-cutting, agreed to throttle back their operations.
As a result, the number of square miles of rainforest cleared in a single year has been reduced from 10,500 in 2005 to 1,850 in 2014.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/deforestation-in-the-amazon-has-plummeted-almost-90pt/

Courage and Compassion Are Flooding in South Carolina, Too

Neighbors are turning into heroes as South Carolina battles one of the the biggest floods in its history.
From a father and son joining professional rescuers, to a seven-year-old volunteering at a Red Cross shelter, to National Guardsmen wading through chest deep water to save pets, people are coming together to help one another.
In the photo above, North Charleston firefighters are shown rescuing a child from floodwaters–a scene repeated hundreds of times on Sunday alone. When emergency crews were overwhelmed, civilians stepped in to support them.
They then helped the paramedics rescue a paraplegic woman with their boat and went on from there –pulling out people stranded in their homes.
Neighbors in other states have rushed help into South Carolina, too. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency sent 83 people and 20 boats, who on Sunday began rescuing people. The North Carolina National Guard has sent six helicopters and 70 Guardsmen to their southern neighbor.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/courage-and-compassion-are-flooding-in-south-carolina-too/

New Discovery: How We Might Starve Tumors by Cutting Off Food Supply

In their hunger to find ways to cure cancer, scientists may have found a method to starve tumors to death.
Cancer cells must find nutrients to grow. Now, researchers at Oxford University in the UK have discovered the method used by cells to locate those food supplies.
They identified a protein called PAT4 as the main tool cancer cells use to find nutrients in blood, and their research suggests it may be possible to starve tumors by targeting it.adult cancer Coloring Book crayons submitted
“We found that aggressive cancer cells manufacture more PAT4, which enables them to make better use of available nutrients than the cells around them – including healthy tissue,” said Dr. Deborah Goberdhan, who led the research.
Goberdhan’s team created an antibody that let them see levels of PAT4 in human tissues. They found that cancers with low PAT4 levels grew more slowly while patients that showed higher levels had more trouble fighting tumors and a higher chance of remission.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/science-discovers-how-we-might-starve-tumors-by-cutting-off-food-supply/

On 4th Anniversary of “Occupy” a Stellar Outcome: $30 Million in Debt Canceled for Americans

Four years ago today, the Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York City’s financial district. Although the encampments that sprang up around the world in solidarity were eventually closed, an amazing effort was soon underway to help “the 99%”.
Since it organized one year later, this positive protest movement has, to date, paid off nearly $32 million in Americans’ personal debt.
Called the “Rolling Jubilee,” the nonprofit buys the debt the same way collection companies do, but instead of trying to collect the money, they simply forgive the debt.
The project can afford to do this because they buy a dollar’s worth of debt for about five cents on the “secondary debt market.”
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/on-4th-anniversary-of-occupy-a-stellar-outcome-30-million-in-debt-canceled-for-americans/

Store Owner Starts K-Cup Recycling Program, Gives Jobs to Disabled

A Canadian furniture store owner woke up one morning and smelled the coffee.
He realized his company has truck routes that could help recycle wasteful plastic Keurig K-Cups in a way that could provide jobs for people with disabilities.
Garnet Wheaton’s trucks making deliveries to his store in Moncton, New Brunswick, usually return to the Halifax, Nova Scotia, warehouse empty. But now, they’re hauling used K-Cups to a recycler.
Dartmouth Center Screen Shot CBCHe’s arranged to have the Dartmouth Adult Services Center break open the discarded cups, turn the leftover coffee grounds into compost, and recycle the plastic shells.
The center provides jobs for adults with intellectual disabilities and its director says the recycling project helps to improve their people’s work skills.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/store-owner-starts-k-cup-recycling-program-to-create-jobs-for-disabled/

Senators Announce Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Legislation

A group of six senators headed by Republican Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced a rare bipartisan criminal-justice bill Thursday morning, just a day after Congress voted to keep the government open with a temporary funding measure.
If passed into law, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 would reduce penalties that apply to repeat drug offenders and eliminate the “three strikes” mandatory life sentence. Grassley called it “the biggest criminal justice reform in a generation.”
“There are things in here that each of us like,” he added. “There are items that each of us would rather do without. This is how the process works in the Congress.”
The bill reforms drug sentencing while also creating new mandatory minimums for interstate domestic violence crimes, both of which should please Democrats. Republicans secured a provision giving greater flexibility to courts in determining sentences for firearm offenses. The two sides praised the bill’s prison reform aspect, which would assign inmates to work and education-related rehabilitation programs.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/senators-announce-bipartisan-criminal-justice-reform-legislation/

A tiny kitten trapped in a storm drain filled with debris and water was rescued by a team of kindhearted Miami firefighters.
"She looks like she hasn't eaten in a while, so I have kitten formula that I keep at the station and I actually gave her formula with a syringe by the mouth," paramedic Kris Gurucharri said. "She ate it and perked up a bit. I did give her a bath - she was in the storm drain and she was disgusting."
Storm was taken Tuesday to Knowles Animal Clinic at 1000 NE 27th Ave in Miami where she is up for adoption.
http://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/1341/Miami-Firefighters-Rescue-A-Tiny-Kitten-Trapped-In-A-Filthy-Storm-Drain